Outreach Projects
Note: more outreach projects will be added to this article as information becomes available. The Gordon Campaign In December 2014, Mecha Galaxy player "Moe Lee" cooperated with the game's developers to create an Indiegogo campaign on behalf of the Gordon family, residents of Missouri who could not otherwise afford to celebrate Christmas. Donations exceeded $1,400 U.S. in just 12 days, and the donors were awarded with the Gordon-class special Mecha. In game lore, the Gordon-class Mecha was designed to commemorate a Christmas cease-fire in 3291. In a spontaneous display of holiday spirit -- similar to the Christmas Truce of World War One -- major inter-Clan alliances (such as the AFF and BBB) put aside their differences for a few days to rebuild the city of Harlock's Gate. Since only the pilots who directly participated in the reconstruction recieved a Gordon, there are less than 50 in the entire galaxy, making them the rarest of all Mecha. ---- "Spirit of the Game", a story by John T Mainer It was a reconnaissance in force; that is military speak for “Take a big stick and go poke the dangerous thing to see what it is” . Andries had been running the standing patrol near Harlock gate, when he picked up signs of heavy traffic from multiple known signals. We had Misfit Toys, AFF, Brotherhood of the Northwind Highlanders; it was like a mini-Clan War and there was nothing in the Bouncing Blue Brotherhood intel to explain what the war was about. Christine piloted her Nakshi “Nasty Boy” through the gate and with the Defenders of Bunny quick reaction force behind her, moved up to a jog. There was signal aplenty. Lots of IFF, no targeting scans, no ECM or ECCM. No shield signatures, but HEAVY reactor signatures. There was no shooting, but the gods own level of activity going on. It was her job to find out what, and act on it. Cutting low around the rise she came to the source of the signal, it was a small city, trying hard to be quaint but obviously fallen on hard times. There were empty shops on every block between the businesses that were still thriving, and she could see construction began in good times was slowly rotting, half completed. This was the detritus of the wars; the disruption caused by the endless squabbling over resources has led to enough disruption in trade that the network that connected resrouces to manufacturers, suppliers to customers was cut in too many places. The town was a bleeding wound in the nation, one of a hundred. There was no one raid you could point to, no one foe responsible, just an endless series of cancelled contracts, depleted resources, rising costs to insure the growing risks in a low security environment. The governments looked after the Great Houses, the mercantile powers that drove the economy, the lifeblood of their taxation as they consolidated and cut loose all those who were no longer critical. The people who made the Great Houses into powers, the ones who built the economy and the nation were now…..less essential. This town, like a hundred others, was left to get by on whatever scraps were left, and there weren’t many. A Dreadnought stood sentinel at the entrance to town, and a hail came over the challenge frequency. “This is Chris Harding of the Rising Sun MMI, this town is protected. State your business” That was funny, Chris Harding was Rising Sun, but behind him was Brian Kelly of the Smurf Brigade, Sherriff Leary Wretham of Death’s Brethren AFF, and Moe Lee of Misfit Toys, Kevin SIlverwolf Johnson of the 123rd Striker RND. The mecha were scattered about, some removing abandoned vehicles, others plugged in to the mainpower grid, running it off their reactors while the assembled pilots tried their hands at tech work to MacGyver some some sort of fix to the ancient and derelict fusion plant. Oddest of all, two mecha were clearly trying to decorate a large Christmas tree in the center of town by hoisting children with decorations on the barrels of the Dilophos. “That’s just not safe. Clearly men working without female supervision again……” “Christine Mainer here, Defenders of Bunny. I am weapons safe; approaching. What the heck is going on Chris? Last time I saw you all together, there was a planet burning, and we were round about day three of a Faction War?” It was Brian Kelly of the Smurf Brigade who answered instead. “Hey Mama-Bunny, this is right up your alley. Moe Lee was using this area for an exercise, because you can rent the whole damned district for the price of parking in Cogwork port, and he was trying to walk off dump shock after getting mauled badly in an intersquad game when he got helped by these seven little kids. They saw him sitting all hurt and messed up on the street riding and sat down to cheer him up. They shared a little of their food with him, and started talking. You know, those kids, they don’t even have enough to celebrate Christmas; haven’t for years,at and they are sharing with him.” They called Christine “Mama Bunny” because she was mother to a good portion of the Defenders of Bunny in truth, adopted mother of some of the clone-kin, and den mother to the rest of the fractious and chaotic Defenders of Bunny. The idea that kids who had so little they didn’t even bother with Yuletide offended her, and the fact that they were still deep enough in its spirit to share with others warmed her deeply. Something needed to be done. She had been keeping her daughters presents, the born daughters and the clone ones, in her Nakshi because they could bribe the Clan’s AI into opening and revealing any other hiding spot . I guess she could go shopping again, some things, you just don’t walk past and do nothing. “I have some presents in the mecha that can help out. And lets stick to mecha with hands for lifting the kids to put on the decorations. Are you even using tech-fall restraints on them, or just telling them not to fall?” So it went, in a town long forgotten, warriors of a dozen clans who came together only in war, came together in peace so that a family who had lost everything but the spirit of giving. Yuletide burned bright and warm, and if the power came from a Rising Sun Dreadnought, and the heat came from an AFF Ignus, that only made it more special. It is a measure of this strange Mecha Galaxy that brought together for the war that is our purpose for living, we are as apt to make peace together.